Containers are used for storing or transporting piece goods, dry loose materials or liquids, as applicable with a pressure above or below atmospheric inside the container. Such a container is known from DE 42 22 396 C2, for example, whose edge zone is encompassed circumferentially by the edge section of the closure, the closure being equipped for this purpose with a circumferential groove in which the edge zone of the container engages in a closed state. To be opened the closure is equipped with a lug with which it may be gripped by the user.
Braun""s xe2x80x9cclean and chargexe2x80x9d cleaning device is provided with a replaceable cartridge containing liquid, which has two openings closed by two interconnected closures (see directions for use 5-301-080/00/x-99). To open the closures there is a loop-type lug with which the closures may be torn open one after the other.
With containers of this type the progress of the opening operation depends entirely on the individual dexterity of the user, with the result that tearing open the closure too vigorously, for example, may cause the contents of the container to be spilled out, particular when there is liquid in the container.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a liquid container, which ensures a controlled and in particular slow opening of the closure regardless of the user""s individual dexterity and strength.
Through the combination of container and closure described herein the user is guided in self-explanatory manner through the opening operation, resulting in a controlled and slow opening of the closure with little expenditure of force. Given a suitable geometric configuration of the closure plus lever and lug it is possible, under controlled conditions and with little force, to open even a closure seated with a high sealing force in the container opening. The invention also prevents the closure springing away from the container, which may cause material sticking to the closure to be flung off unintentionally. This applies in particular to liquid or dust particles adhering to the closure, which may then cause splashes or dust deposits. Moving the lug causes the lever arm to engage and initiates and controls the opening operation of the closure.
In a practice-oriented embodiment of the invention which is particularly suitable for large series, provision is made for the lever arm to extend from the lug toward the closure, with the free end of the lever arm pointing away from the lug. Such a closure may be constructed so that it extends essentially in one plane and is easy to manufacture with little effort.
Particularly exact controlling of the opening operation is made possible by an embodiment of the invention which provides for a joint between the lever arm and the closure, with the axis of rotation of the joint and the pivot axis of the lever arm being parallel to each other.
Particularly exact controlling of the opening operation is made possible by an embodiment which provides for a joint between the lever arm and the closure, with the axis of rotation of the joint and the pivot axis of the lever arm being parallel to each other.
A further embodiment of the invention provides for the openings of the container to have cross sections of various size, in which case the container may have several compartments, each assigned a respective opening. Such an embodiment enables the separation of various materials stored in one container, particularly when the container compartments are separated from each other.
A further aspect of this embodiment in which the container compartments are interconnected is of advantage in particular for the storage of circulating operating, lubricating or cleaning agents, in which case one opening is connected to an inlet and the other opening to an outlet. The connection between the individual container compartments may take the form of cooling, heating, throttling, cleaning and/or sedimentation sections or the like, for example.
If in such an embodiment the container""s contents are stored under a differential pressure relative to the atmosphere, it is an advantage for the opening with a first closure to be assigned to the compartment having a smaller air volume above a liquid level, and for the opening with a second closure to be assigned to the compartment having a larger air volume above the liquid level. Through a suitable sequence of opening the two closures it is then possible for the fluid displacement effect arising from a unilateral increase or decrease of pressure to be controlled in such a way as to counteract the splashing out of liquid when the container is opened.
For this purpose a particularly advantageous embodiment provides, in the case of a liquid stored under pressure below atmospheric, for the lug and lever to be provided at the first closure because when the vacuum is vented upon opening the first closure the liquid is displaced from the compartment with the smaller air volume above the liquid level into the compartment with a larger air volume above the liquid level. Controlled opening is particularly important when opening containers with pressure below atmospheric because a vigorous opening movement is required to overcome the differential pressure. For a liquid stored under pressure above atmospheric the order of opening is reversed so that the direction of the liquid displacement remains the same. Hence in the second case the lug and the lever are arranged at the second closure.
A particularly comfortable and exactly controllable possibility of opening the container results when a joint is provided in the connecting lug. From the production engineering and cost points of view it is particularly favorable for the joint to be constructed as a film hinge joint.
Further features, advantages and application possibilities of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent description of an embodiment illustrated in more detail in the accompanying drawings. It will be understood that any single feature described and/or represented by illustration, whether taken alone or in any meaningful combination, form the subject-matter of the present invention, irrespective of their summarization in the claims or their back-references.